Where does “beef jerky” come from?
beef jerky (English) comes from English beef, from Middle English bef, from Old French buef, from Latin bōs, from Ancient Greek βοῦς, from Latin corvus, from Proto-Italic korwos, from Proto-Indo-European ḱorh₂wós — army.
beef jerky (English): jerked meat of bovine origin
Definitions
- jerked meat of bovine origin
Ancestry of “beef jerky”, step by step
beef jerky traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English beef
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | beef | The meat from a cow, bull, or other bovine; A... |
| 2 | Middle English | bef | beef; cow flesh or meat; A bovine or its carcass |
| 3 | Old French | buef | cow |
| 4 | Latin | bōs | head of cattle (cow, bull, steer, or ox) |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | βοῦς | cow, ox, cattle; shield: ὃτι ἐκ βοείων ἐστι... |
| 6 | Latin | corvus | A raven; a bird associated with prophecy and... |
| 7 | Proto-Italic | korwos | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱorh₂wós | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | ḱer- | to grow, to make grow, to nourish; to plait,... |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | kr̥- | to turn, to bend |
| 11 | Proto-Indo-European | ker- | army |
via English jerky
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | jerky | Characterized by physical jerking; Having the... |
| 2 | English | -y | Added to nouns and adjectives to form adjectives... |
| 3 | Middle English | -y | Designates an adjective, in many cases formed by... |
| 4 | Old English | -iġ | -y, -ic |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | -g | Forms adjectives from nouns and verbs with a... |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -gaz | -y |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ḱos | -y, -ic |